What's the traditional japanese christmas greeting?

"おはようございます", or "good morning".

if my attempt at humour didn't click, the message is that christmas isn't a big deal in japan, to the point where it's a normal workday. i had class (well, more like a summary/activity session) at the primary school today, and i was working with an english teacher who's from the UK. it must be harder for her to work during christmas, since it's a big thing in her culture. but well, that's how it is in japan. then again, she's been here for like, 30 years already, so i'm sure she's become used to it by now. i suppose that my equivalent would be having to work over CNY, although to be honest, it won't be that much of a difference. after all, i've spent days 1 and 2 of CNY in the lab before. partly because i really had experiments to run, and partly to get out of the whole visiting people i only see once a year thing.

final fantasy had a collaboration campaign with lawson's recently - buy certain stuff to accrue a certain number of stamps, and trade the stamps for an in-game mount. i wasn't going to do it initially, but then i thought i might as well take advantage of being in japan. so i got the mount. in the process, i bought like 11 chocolate waffles, 3 boxes of chocolate, and 1 container of what i think is bubblegum. the chocolate was nice; i haven't tried the waffles or gum yet. the timing was good, actually. i bought all that stuff yesterday, and decided to give out the chocolate waffles to the office today as a christmas present. one of my rare brainwaves. the big plus here for me was that the cute guy who's based in the main headquarters came by my office to do work, so i got to give him a waffle too. turns out he's a final fantasy fan! but he likes FF7, and doesn't play FF14. i told the singapore JETs about him being there, and one of them asked if it was serendipity. being a scientist, i know that conclusions drawn based on a single data point are unreliable. so i'll see how valentine's day goes.

by the way, valentine's day in japan is quite different from other places. if memory serves, only girls give chocolate to guys on valentine's day. then they have this thing called "white day" a month later, where guys return the gesture. whoops, got sidetracked there a little. i guess the plan is to wait and see. valentine's day might also be a good chance for me to ask how people find partners in this remote area, and the general view on LGBT people. but for that guy in particular...i mean, yes, he's cute, but there's a 10-year age gap, not to mention the language barrier, and most importantly - he may not be into guys. nevertheless, i think it's no harm to casually flirt a little...as long as he doesn't feel uncomfortable.

ah, speaking of cute guys, i'm slowly coming up with more and more evidence for a hypothesis that i have. it goes: people generally look better with masks on. masks that cover the lower half of their face, that is. sometimes, the difference isn't that great, like someone goes from a 9 to a 7 or 8 after taking their mask off (cute guy belongs in this category, i think, though i haven't yet got a good look at him mask-less). in other cases though...10 can go to 6. someone i met has the most beautiful eyes, and his hairstyle was really good too; suited him very well. but when he took off his mask to drink water, let's just say i was more than a little disappointed. this is just me being shallow, by the way. i should probably declare that peoples' looks don't affect how i work with them. if they're nice, i'll be at least equally nice, if not more so. i really wonder if anyone's rating/number will go up after the mask is removed though...

side note on masks - my ears are beginning to hurt from wearing them! i feel it on my left ear especially. my aunt gave me a plastic thing to hook onto both mask straps and thus allow me to have a mask on while bypassing my ears, but i have no idea where it is! what's worse, i don't remember packing it, so i probably misplaced it somewhere. i should attempt to mcguyver something that will work similarly. i got it! string, tied together. or, i might just try my luck and see if it's being sold anywhere near me.

today is also my second week anniversary in kochi. at this point, i think i have a pretty good idea of what's expected of me, and how things work around here. like i mentioned in a post that i may or may not have published (uncertain at the point of writing this post), this is not the JET experience that i envisioned. for the record, i'm not unhappy. just that this japan that i'm actually living in is different from the japan i knew as a tourist. it's even different from the japan i knew through anime and manga, since most of them are set in city/urban-ish locales. that's not necessarily bad, but as i've said many times before, it will take getting used to. considering how different it is, i think wanting/expecting myself to get used to it in 2 weeks is a little harsh/demanding. should be kinder to myself and allow for more time to settle in. a part of me is a little envious of some of the other JETs (several of whom have received free goodies from their neighbours, and one of them apparently is being very well taken care of by everyone in the city hall, even the mayor!). but as we all know, envy/jealousy isn't good. so, i remind myself that i'm happy for them, and that my placement is by no means awful. help has been freely available when i needed it, and that's just about all i can reasonably ask for.

with that, i'll just say merry christmas. it'll probably be over by the time you read this, but it's the thought that counts. may your holidays be peaceful and unexciting; there's been enough excitement this year, i think.

-random thought of the day: Dating/finding a partner is not a priority at this time!-